This makes a great casserole to take somewhere.  You can vary the amount of spice in this recipe by using Mild Rotel if you don’t want a lot of spice, or you can spice it up to your heart’s content!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can diced Rotel
• 1 stick butter, melted (Hmmm…I know, not healthy.  I’m going to try it with extra-virgin olive oil sometime or at least half butter and half olive oil.)
  
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use reduced fat)
• 1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix

Mix cornbread according to the directions on the box.  Combine the other ingredients, reserving 1/2 of the grated cheese.

Pour into 11 x 9 casserole dish and bake, covered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and heat until the cheese is melted.

There’s a T-shirt available in Hawaii that has the saying on it, “I survived the road to Hana.”   If you’ve been on that road, then you know exactly what they mean.  It will be ten years this June since our family went to Hawaii, but I still remember a lot about it because it was such an awesome trip.  And I definitely remember the road to Hana.

We took that road during the daytime to get to the “Seven Sacred Springs” which were beautifully located in a rain forest.  It was worth the trip on the narrow, winding-around-mountains-road to get to walk in the rain forest around the springs.  However, we had no idea how horrendous our return trip would be.

When we left the springs to head back to our motel on the other side of the island, it was nearly dark and starting to rain.  Winding around narrow, treacherous, mountain roads (so narrow that you had to honk to warn on-coming traffic as you rounded a curve because there was only room for one car on the curve!!!!!) on a dark, rainy night for miles and miles and miles was at the very least nerve-wracking.  We were never so glad to get to flat land and see the lights of the city.

So…if you ever go to Hawaii, Maui to be exact, beware of the “road to Hana!”  The Seven Sacred Pools and rainforest are worth the drive but be sure you travel the road during daylight hours!  And if you survive, be sure to get yourself a T-shirt. 

This is in response to Lori’s “Finding Faith” post.  I was going to leave a comment but then realized it would end up being a long comment and it was actually something I would like to share with my readers.  Sorry about the quality of the pictures.  I took digital pictures of photos I already had, but hey, it works.   Well, here goes:

This happened back in 2001 on a Saturday morning.  My husband was gone for the morning, and it was just our son and me at home.   He wanted to go next door and see the neighbor boy.  The weather report said that a storm was heading our way but it sounded like it would be 30 minutes before it got to our house, so I said OK.   He opened the front door and then came back inside.  Then we heard the tornado sirens going off.  Minutes later, we heard someone knocking at our back door.  It was a neighbor who informed me that our two gigantic trees had  blown over and completely obstructed the sidewalk and front door.  We ran around to the front and sure enough, there was this massive forest of tree trunks and branches all over our sidewalk.

Neighbors gathered quickly and covered the hole in our roof with tarpaulin  because rain was headed our way.  That was a blessing because soon the rain started to pour.

When things had settled down a bit and my son and I were talking about all that had happened that morning, I found out that when he opened the front door, he actually saw those two gigantic trees (which were close to our house, not far from the front door) swaying from the ground up.  In other words, the trunks themselves were swaying which meant they were getting ready to come forward towards the house.  I realized that God had kept our son safe from going out onto the sidewalk where the trees were getting ready to fall.

On Monday when the insurance adjuster came, he couldn’t get over how those two huge trees did not cut our house like a knife.  He said that when you have two enormous trees fall over on a house, it usually cuts completely through the house.  Again, I realized how God had protected both my son and me from being hurt by the trees and a falling roof and ceiling.

One thing I remember, too, is that my husband said those two trees looked like they had been laid gently on our house.  I believe it was the hand of God, easing the fall of those trees to protect us!

How many times does God protect us throughout our lives and we don’t even realize it?

We ended up getting our roof repaired and a replacement chimney.  One tree did major damage to a corner of the house where there is a walk-in closet.  (You could stand in that closet, look up, and see the sky.)

I felt sorry for the guys on trash day who came to pick up tree limbs! Those pieces of tree trunk and large limbs were huge and very heavy.  Those were 60 year old trees so they had done a lot of growing!

I was doing so well on not overdoing it until the week before Christmas.  I was making different kinds of cookies for different things, and I ate too many cookies.  I didn’t gorge or anything, but I ate more than I meant to.  Warm cookies out of the oven are just too good!   And then at my mother-in-law’s, we had warm sugar cookies fresh out of the oven.  Well, you can imagine!

Now that the holidays are past, I don’t plan to be making any more cookies anytime soon.  I did have a virus right after New Year’s, so I lost my taste for sweet things…at least for a week.   I lost most of what I had gained, so I won’t be needing any diet pills.

#1. Do you prefer to eat Chinese food in the restaurant or to have it delivered?
We’ve always had it in a restaurant except for once when we got a take-out order. We’ve never had Chinese food delivered, only pizza.
#2. Do you prefer wonton or egg drop soup?
Either
#3. What flavor fried rice is your favorite?
Fried brown rice with teriyaki is my favorite.
#4. Describe your favorite item on the Chinese food menu.
Hmmm…I guess maybe Moo Goo Gai Pan.   We eat at an Asian Restaurant mostly and my favorite is Teriyaki Chicken with Fried Brown Rice.

A lot of people are getting a new TV with the transition to digital TV  in February, and some will also be getting a new tv stand.   We still have an “old” 32 inch TV in an entertainment center, but I really do like the look of a flat screen TV on a nice looking TV stand.  For now, though, we will keep our same TV.

Some people do not like to freeze turkey because they don’t like the way it tastes when it’s thawed and reheated.  I have had the experience of turkey being a little on the tough side or a little rubbery in texture even though I freeze turkey in broth so it won’t dry out.   Finally, I found a way to reheat turkey that works great.  Here’s my tip:

Heating slices of thawed turkey in a skillet with extra-virgin olive oil on medium heat for a few minutes until hot results in more tender, delicious tasting turkey.